The DOI matches its Crossref record; 232 of the 233 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Public health significance of neuroticism
Open accessAbstract
The personality trait of neuroticism refers to relatively stable tendencies to respond with negative emotions to threat, frustration, or loss. Individuals in the population vary markedly on this trait, ranging from frequent and intense emotional reactions to minor challenges to little emotional reaction even in the face of significant difficulties. Although not widely appreciated, there is growing evidence that neuroticism is a psychological trait of profound public health significance. Neuroticism is a robust correlate and predictor of many different mental and physical disorders, comorbidity among them, and the frequency of mental and general health service use. Indeed, neuroticism apparently is a predictor of the quality and longevity of our lives. Achieving a full understanding of the nature and origins of neuroticism, and the mechanisms through which neuroticism is linked to mental and physical disorders, should be a top priority for research. Knowing why neuroticism predicts such a wide variety of seemingly diverse outcomes should lead to improved understanding of commonalities among those outcomes and improved strategies for preventing them.
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“NNE is prospectively linked with such a broad range of negative physical and mental health outcomes, including harmful alcohol use, sleep problems, suicide risk, and others that it has been characterized as among the most important risk factors in public health (49–52).”
From Pilot outcomes and exploration of treatment mechanisms using a culturally adapted version of the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders to improve mental health symptoms, alcohol misuse, functional outcomes, and sleep quality in emergency responders (2025) · cites this paper as [49]
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“It is of interest that some authors consider neuroticism as a psychological endophenotype of affective disorders (58) as well as a personality characteristic independently leading to PD with adjunctive vulnerability to stressful life events, sleep disorders, and hormonal changes (13–15).”
From Perinatal depression screening and prevention: Descriptive findings from a multicentric program in the South of Italy (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
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Cites
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“…of neuroticism, in the sense of maintaining rank-order position relative to other persons, increases with age from adolescence through adulthood (Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000), mean neuroticism scores peak in late adolescence and decline moderately through adulthood (Costa et al., 1986; McCrae et…”
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1 of the 233 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
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Tariq, A., Gray, E., Gregory, A. M., & Chan, S. W. Y. (2024) · Wellcome Open Research · doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.22685.1 · Cited by 10
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“Originally introduced and defined by Eysenck [12] in 1967, neuroticism is considered an endophenotype of genetic predisposition to develop affective disorders [13].”
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“Finally, prior research demonstrates robust relationships between neuroticism and health outcomes (Lahey, 2009; Russo et al., 1997; Williams, O’Brien, & Colder, 2004).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lahey, B. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lahey, Benjamin B.
- ORCID
- Lahey, Benjamin B.
- Venue
- American Psychologist
- Published
- 2009
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 241-256
- ISSN
- 0003-066X (ISSN-L)
- 1935-990X
- PMC
- PMC2792076
- OpenAlex
- W1982330837
- Cited by
- 1,901
- References
- 233
- Citations by year
- 2026: 118 · 2025: 125 · 2024: 129 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 149 · 2021: 166 · 2020: 202 · 2019: 106 · 2018: 100 · 2017: 108 · 2016: 113 · 2015: 99 · 2014: 77 · 2013: 78 · 2012: 68
- FWCI
- 58.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH059111)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Keywords
- neuroticism, personality traits, public health, mental illness, physical disorders, comorbidities, health care utilization, quality of life, longevity, emotional reactivity, prevention
- MeSH terms
- Arousal, Mental Disorders, Character, Emotions, Humans, Neurotic Disorders, Prognosis, Public Health, Risk Factors, Risk-Taking, Somatoform Disorders, Health Behavior, Comorbidity
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